Olympics

Perri Shakes-Drayton at the site of the Olympic Village in Stratford

Perri Shakes-Drayton
Age 18
Sport Hurdles
Club Tower Hamlets & Victoria Park Harriers
Achivements so far This 18-year old from Poplar has been gobbling up the medals since we first spoke to her in January 2006, when she was ranked as Great Britain’s leading under-17s hurdler. In 2006, she represented Great Britain’s under-20s at the World Junior Athletics Championships in Beijing, ranking at number eight in the world, and number one for her age group in the 400m hurdles. At the same games she achieved a personal best of 57.52 and is presently ranked third in Europe. Apart from hurdling, she is also studying psychology, PE, philosophy and ethics at Bishop Challoner sixth-form college in Poplar.

‘I loved Beijing, even though everyone stared at me, because I was foreign, and black. Their organisation seemed very impressive, everything operated with military precision.

‘At present I’m training five times a week. I’ve increased everything, from running to weights. It doesn’t leave me much time for a social life, but I am absolutley committed to this sport so I don’t mind too much. It helps that my friends and family are proud of me – they have all my newspaper cuttings! And these days local people recognise me in the street which is nice.

‘Next year, I will be representing the under-23s and I’ll have to step up my training. There’s a possibility I could compete in the Beijing Olympics, but that depends on how I’m performing.

‘The training is tiring. I have to keep my energy up by eating a lot. After every session I have a milkshake and also eat loads of pasta and rice.
‘What I’ve noticed is that the Olympics is already making an impact. The Mile End track has been refurbished and has put on more events for local children, and lots more children have joined the the athletics club.

‘There has been a lot of controversy about the cost of the Olympics, but I’m still excited about it. I want to be there and am working towards that – I even liked the logo.’

Ali Jawad
Age 18
Sport Powerlifting
Club Wood Green Weightlifting Club
Achievements so far Ali, who was born in the Lebanon and lives in Tottenham, has won the British Championships three times. He’s the British and European junior record holder, having lifted a staggering 165kg, and is ranked second in the world at the under-23 level. He won gold in his category at this year’s European Junior Championships and, remarkably, also finished fourth in the seniors.

‘After my GCSEs two years ago, some friends encouraged me to go to the gym across the road from my school. I was competing at international level in judo but I never thought I was particularly strong. Then I started bench pressing and the guy who ran the club thought I had potential. There’s no judo category for my disability in the Paralympics – I was born without legs – so I decided to concentrate on powerlifting instead.

‘I’ve just finished A levels in English, psychology and PE, and I’m hoping to study sports science at London Metropolitan University. But I’m on the verge of qualifying for next year’s Beijing Olympics so I’ll take a gap year and devote it to training then go to uni afterwards. At the moment I train three-four hours a day, six days a week. I get good advice on things like nutrition from my own coach and also from people who work with the GB squad.

‘I get some help from the new Haringey Council Sports Scholarship Scheme but I need more international experience before I can receive World Class funding. Soon I’ll be flying out to China for a training camp and competition. When I first started, no-one expected me to get anywhere near Beijing. They said I should aim for 2012. But I’ve made pretty rapid progress already, so why not?’

Chrystall Nicoll
Age 21
Sport Fencing
Club Brentwood Fencing Club
Achievements so far Nicoll, who is from Brentwood in Essex, began fencing ten years ago at an evening class at a local school. She was the champion in 2004 at the 2004 Commonwealth Fencing Games in Australia and is currently ranked at number 70 in the world. In September she will compete in the world championships in St Petersburg.

‘Fencing is fun, exciting and fast paced and you never get bored. It’s all about stretching yourself mentally – a bit like chess with a sword. I train from 9am-12pm at my club, where we have lessons, do some sparring and other technical work as well as sometimes doing a run. I’m about to start work at Coca-Cola in a part-time sales post for the afternoon, but it’s been really hard to get work that fits around your sporting commitment. Do I have a social life? My boyfriend would say ‘No’. I’m away at competitions a lot and out of the country 12 weeks a year. I am excited about the Olympics and wish more people were enthusiastic. It’s easy to complain about it but it’s more difficult to support it and actually do something. It’ll be a great legacy for the kids in that area. I haven’t seen a great impact in terms of people taking up fencing yet, but I hope there will be.’

Jamie Ruiz at the site of the Olympic Village in Stratford

Jamie Ruiz
Age 19
Sport Hockey
Club Surbiton Hockey Club
Achievements so far Jamie could easily have become a footballer as he played at Fulham FC’s Academy for five years. Since taking up hockey at Kingston Grammar School, however, he has won England honours at under-16, under-18 and under-21 levels while turning out for one of England’s top clubs, Surbiton. Earlier this year, Jamie was part of the British team beaten in the final of the Australian Youth Olympic Festival by the hosts. In September, he goes to Nottingham University to study geography and will be switching to play for another Premier Division club, Beeston.

‘It feels like the season never ends! I had a senior training camp last week, then under-21s this week. Someone once told me that international hockey was like 18 months on, two weeks off, and now I know what they mean. It’s tiring but we get regular advice on eating healthily and looking after ourselves, and we can ring up a nutritionist or physio whenever we want.

‘My parents have always supported me, certainly financially. We weren’t a hockey family, but I’ve made them one! My younger brother has just gone to the same school as me, so he’ll be getting involved next. Dad was a rugby player and I’m not sure how keen he was about me playing hockey in the first place, but he’s grown to like the sport. Surbiton was a great club to join. At the time they had ten internationals so it was great to train and play with some of the best.

‘We were gutted to lose to Australia. It was 2-2 at full-time in the final, then no-one scored in extra-time and so it went to penalty flicks. Even that went to sudden-death before we were beaten 7-6. But it was good to show we can match a side who are always rated one of the top three teams in the world.

‘I’ve got a busy time coming up: the European Under-21 Championships and preparations for Beijing with the seniors, as well as going to university and joining a new club. I know a few guys from the England squads who already play for Beeston so I’ll have some friends there. This should really help my hockey because the uni is just across the road from the club and Loughborough is only round the corner for back-up support.’